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Friday, November 11, 2016

Many of you seem upset by Trump's election victory. Will you give me a chance to help you feel better?

Many of you seem to believe that the election of Trump is the result of a wave of "white hate" against minorities. After all, this is the story being told by many people on TV. And if it were true, I would be as upset as you. It would mean America is really a terrible place.

But what if that's not true? And if it were not true, how would you know?

Consider these facts from the NY Times data (which you can examine in the link below):

Only one percent morewhites voted for Trump over Romney (who lost) in 2012; but...

sevenpercent more blacks voted for Trump over Romney;

eight percent moreLatinos voted for Trump over Romney;

eleven percent more Asians voted for Trump over Romney;

one more percent of "other" non-whites voted for Trump over Romney.

That adds up to millions more minorities voting for Trump over Romney or past Republican candidates (as, by the way, I predicted on Facebook would occur a year and a half ago).

And those millions, in a popular vote as close as this one was, added up to be enough to push Trump across the finish line. The fact is that Trump is the most popular Republican candidate amongst minorities to come along in a long time. They won him the election - not a "tidal wave of white haters". It was actually a wave of blacks, Latinos and Asians.

How can that be, you ask?

Easy. Those millions of new black, Latino and Asian Republican voters saw in Trump not a racist, but a guy who cared about solving problems which affect them every single day. They saw him as a guy who was more likely than Clinton to help them and their families prosper economically, stay safe from America's enemies, get affordable health care, get a good education, and "make America great again".

So, either those new minority Republican voters who put Trump across the finish line saw something in him that affluent white people like you could not see, or they are all too stupid to recognize a racist when they see one, even though they deal with racism all the time.

I think the most likely option is the first one. And if it is the first one, the question is:

Could it be that your fears of a Trump presidency are...overblown? Maybe based on a slightly skewed perception?

I'm not arguing right now that they are. I'm only asking you if you are able to just *contemplate the possibility* that they might be. (Can you?)

And if you conclude that that is possible, and maybe, just maybe, all those minority voters saw something you missed...

...you should start to feel a bit more hopeful, a bit more optimistic, however cautiously, about this election. Maybe, just maybe, as all those new black, Latino and Asian Republican voters believe, the future will actually be brighter than the past. Maybe Trump will be better than you thought. It *is* possible, after all.